There is enough oil in Serbia and it cannot be said that we had a market disruption.
Since March last year, when the coronavirus pandemic began in Europe, the complete logistics have been more complicated than a year ago. When we add to that the weaker yield and the jump in prices on the world stock exchanges, there are higher oil prices, says Zarko Malinovic from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce for RTS.
Visiting the morning program, Malinovic points out that it is important that the price of oil in Serbia is the lowest and that there is no shift in the margins of traders.
According to him, oil is a commodity and Serbia is part of the single market. The fact is that the lowest price of oil in our country is thanks to the good cooperation of producers and traders.
– At this moment, our producers could export oil at higher prices than they sell to domestic traders. Traders in oil and other basic foodstuffs have very low margins – Malinovic emphasizes.
He adds that the price of oil has gone up on the world market. In Ukraine, as one of the largest producers, it costs 1.10 euros in procurement, while in Serbia it is in retail from 1 to 1.3 euros. The yield of sunflowers and the total sown area last year were slightly less than in 2019.
– Prices on the Serbian market are formed freely. What is important for the citizens is that we have a high supply, we also have a large export of oil and sunflower, and that is important for us from the aspect of supply. In terms of price, we have different prices from manufacturers. There are three oil producers and private labels of trade chains that have slightly lower prices than branded oils – explains Zarko Malinovic from PKS.
According to him, in case the prices continue to increase, the state can, in accordance with the law, adopt temporary measures that imply a price freeze, and that is the last resort.
– Intervention from commodity reserves can be very good. However, at this moment, import from abroad would be meaningless because in our country, oil is cheaper in retail than abroad in procurement. I am grateful to domestic producers for having a patriotic feeling and for trying to keep prices on the domestic market as low as possible – says Malinovic.
According to the analysis done by the Chamber of Commerce, the inflation rate in Serbia is low when measured in current retail prices.
– We follow 24 food groups and there are no significant changes. Depending on the season, prices go up and down. Our advantage as a company is that more than 80 percent of food products that we have on the shelves of traders are of Serbian origin, and that is what our quality is – Malinovic believes.
He adds that a year of stabilization awaits us in which we will not have an increase in retail prices.
– We ended 2020 with minimal growth in retail. However, when we look structurally at the retail branches, a large number of them also had a decline. We expect that the market will be stable, well-supplied, and what we all saw in the past year due to the pandemic is that we must rely on ourselves and our strengths – Malinovic emphasizes.
When it comes to food products, Serbia is, as he points out, a large producer and exporter.
– I ask the citizens, as consumers, to buy domestic products and in that way behave responsibly and protect Serbia – says Malinovic.
He adds that during the pandemic year, prices rose occasionally in certain categories, for example the prices of southern fruits.
– When we look at other products, there was no significant increase in prices, but within the limits of planned inflation. In the groups of 23 basic foodstuffs, such as bread, milk, meat, there was no significant price change – says Zarko Malinovic from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Vesti-Online reports.
